Secret Of The Blue Zones On How To Live Longer
Author Dan Buettner embarked on a journey to find the common factors why people live longer. Eating a balanced diet and regular exercise are obviously one of the most voted habits for it, but Dan wants to search for more. Genetics is not one of them, as what many have thought.
On this journey, Buettner discovered what he called the “Blue Zones“. These are five places, distant from each other that have the most number of centenarians. These five zones are Sardinia (Italy), Okinawa (Japan), Loma Linda (California), Icaria (Greece), and Nicoya Peninsula (Costa Rica). Despite the distance, Buettner found common practices of the people living in these places that highly influence their life-expectancy rate.
The centenarians of these places are still very healthy, healthier than the author itself. The secrets of the Blue Zones don’t just end in food and exercise. They have a very holistic view of life and how it should be lived. Learn the not-so-secret of the Blue Zone here.
Physical Activity
When we hear of physical activity, the first thing that usually comes to our mind is going to the gym. There is nothing wrong with that, but physical activity should not only be done inside the gym. Centenarians from the Blue Zones don’t have gym memberships but chores. This includes planting crops, chopping woods, walking, and cleaning the house. It still impacts their overall health even if these are low-impact activities.
Diet
Having a physical activity is not enough, we also have to watch the food we eat. People in the Blue Zones report on eating more plant-based food than animal-based. The food they prepare is sometimes also grown in their lands so they can ensure that the plants are not being drenched in fertilizers. These people are not vegans, they still eat animal-based food but at a minimum.
Reason of Being
The reason of Being is what the Japanese call “ikigai’ while Costa Ricans call it “plan de Vida”. These things are what we sometimes call purpose in life or our calling. Most of the centenarians wake up every day with a clear vision of their reasons for waking up in the morning. They have reasons for existing and they work towards it to achieve their purpose in life.
Healthy Social Circle
The people we chose to spend our lives with can have a direct impact on the quality of our own lives. There are people, no matter what we do, will remain toxic for the remainder of our relationship. Well, this might be a good time to move on from those types of people and to focus on our own emotional health.
The reason why people from the Blue Zones can maintain such lifestyle is that they surround themselves with people who have the same goals as them. They eat the same type of food, do chores, and have the same value for life. Who we surround ourselves will always be a defining factor of how our lives will turn out.
Religion
The study shows that people who have religion have a lower risk of developing depression and having suicidal thoughts. This is because they look up to a higher being who is responsible for what’s happening in their lives. They accept that they are not always in control, making them less vulnerable to frustrations in life. These centenarians also share the same religious belief, creating a harmonious village for them.
Close Family Ties
Aside from maintaining a healthy social circle, these people also have a good relationship with their family members. The younger generation looks up and respects their elders, while the elders make sure to pass on the values they have learned in life. There are no dramatic scenes where children cuss off their parents, and parents abuse their kids. They have a symbiotic relationship with each other even if they already have families of their own.
These are just some of the basic practices of the people from the Blue Zones. It may seem hard to follow all these but there is an online community that urges people to live better by following these secrets. We always have a say on what we want to become of ourselves, and the sooner we realize that the sooner we can start building ourselves for the future.
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